South Hams Blog

If you're looking for the latest news and stories about selected local businesses and places of interest, you can read about them below. Need inspiration for a day out? Check out our month-by-month Events pages for the all the latest goings-on. Want to find out more about our beautiful South Hams? Then look no further than Explore - our guide to the district's towns, beaches and attractions.

Got some news or an event you'd like to tell us about? Contact us today and we'll get the word out.

Coming soon – a convenient way to shop local

We all love the idea of shopping locally with the benefits that go with it - premium quality produce, far fewer food miles and supporting the local economy. The reality is, most of us are time-poor and are forced to abandon these ideals in favour of the one-stop shop. Chalk one up to the superstores.

Not only that, the food giants have pressed home their advantage by capitalising on the fast-growing trend in online shopping; all your groceries conveniently delivered to your door at the click of a mouse. The superstores win again.

But Pretty Local, a new online market place operating within a 20-mile radius of Kingsbridge, aims to change all that.

From fresh baked bread, eggs and seasonal fruit and veg, to meat, fish and dairy produce. Even beautiful cut flowers. All these and more will soon be available to order online for collection or delivery.

Pretty Local is the creation of self-confessed foodies, Lindsay and Andrea Wilson. ‘My husband is a chef and over the last 15 years we have worked around the world, from the States and Australia to the Mediterranean where shopping at local farmers’ markets is a way of life,’ Andrea says. ‘We share a passion for responsibly sourced, locally produced food and wanted to find a way to make it more accessible in the area where we live.’

Andrea and Lindsay also seek to challenge the perception that local produce is necessarily more expensive. ‘We don’t have the huge overheads that the chains have, plus there are no middlemen,’ Lindsay explains. ‘This is good news for customers, but also for the local farmers and producers. They receive around 70% of the retail price with us but they’d have to settle for far less from the superstores.’

Pretty Local promises to provide a serious alternative to distant mass-production and with none of the shelf life concerns that go with it; fruit and veg are typically picked and harvested within a day or two of delivery. The scheme will launch early in the new year so sign up now for more information on their website at www.prettylocal.co.uk.

About the author

Joe’s sister, blogger-in-chief and co-creator of social media and website content. Got a story, offer or special event you want to promote? Let me know and we’ll get it out there! Submit latest news to us here.